As the only statewide public radio station, WNPR has the flexibility and resources to educate Connecticut residents about health disparities through in-depth reporting, hour-long programs, and community events.

Women are less likely to die of breast cancer than they were a decade ago, but not all women are benefiting from that trend. White women saw more of a drop in death rates than black women — 1.9 percent a year from 2010 to 2014, compared to a 1.5 percent decrease for black women, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while the death rates for women under 50 declined regardless of race, older black women are more likely to die of breast...

According to a 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, black Americans make up less than six percent of the nation's physicians and surgeons. A new documentary shines a light on the topic, specifically focusing on women in the field.

Drug epidemics are not new in the United States. But there’s something very distinctive about the demographics of this latest wave, which centers around opioid and heroin abuse. It cuts across socio-economic and racial divides.

Inmates with substance abuse issues face the highest risk of relapse, or fatal overdose, within the first few weeks of being released from incarceration. Research shows that 80 percent of former inmates with opiate dependence issues will relapse within a month of leaving jail.

Ken Aligata of the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery ran through an inspection of a sober living home in the quiet, picturesque neighborhood of Clinton, Connecticut. Seven people with addiction who are in recovery currently live there, and Aligata wants to make sure it’s a safe environment.

This year marks an important milestone in our nation's history -- 35 years since the discovery of HIV/AIDS . This hour, we look back to see how far we've come in understanding, treating, and destigmatizing HIV/AIDS in America.

Activists and mental health experts gathered in Hartford this week to talk about the need for more equitable access to health care services. But sometimes, health care isn't on the top of people's minds.

Most of us know the Miranda rights -- our "right to remain silent" -- even if we've never been arrested. But do you know the full history behind them? This hour, we talk to a local public defender about the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona .

Dr. Gail Christopher has been a crusader for better health outcomes in America, championing an idea that “place matters,” finding that the way people live in some communities puts them at a much higher risk for disease.

Carolyn Rossi has been a registered nurse for 27 years, and she's been fiercely protective of infants in her intensive care unit — babies born too soon, babies born with physical and cognitive abnormalities and, increasingly, babies born dependent on opioids. As clinical manager of the nurseries at the Hospital of Central Connecticut , Rossi works in the neonatal intensive care unit. Like many hospitals across the country, the facility near Hartford has seen a dramatic rise in recent years in...

When a woman addicted to opioids gives birth, she usually leaves her baby behind to be cared for by nurses. However, one Connecticut hospital is rethinking that approach. This hour, we find out why with WNPR reporter Jeff Cohen.

A few days into heroin detox—when you’re still in the throwing-up phase of withdrawal—is not a good time to learn your insurance is refusing to pay for your stay. That’s what happened to 22-year-old Joe (a pseudonym) in 2012 when he was in an inpatient detox in Oregon. Joe’s mother Elaine had checked with the insurer in advance to see if they would cover the care, but then she got the call from the detox center warning Joe was about to be kicked out. The insurance company was refusing to pay...

When it comes to giving birth, white women have better health care outcomes than black and Hispanic women. T hat's according to a new study, which examined hospital re-admission rates following delivery in Connecticut.

Health insurance co-ops are companies that were given federal incentives to compete for business under the Affordable Care Act. Roughly two dozen of them set up shop across the country. Now, only half are still in business, and one of them is in Connecticut.